It’ll be interesting to see where “Dune” lands in this year’s Oscar race. Likely, it will get a Best Picture nod.
Its screenplay, however, has so much air blown into it, it’s like someone forgot to craft a cohesive story. What’s worse is this is just Part One. That means it’ll be another two-hours-plus before we learn what really happens to Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and his fellow Dunesers.
The Cliffs Notes version: Control of the planet Arrakis has been handed over to his father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), much to the dismay of the House Harkonnen. Because Arrakis has spice – some life-necessary substance that looks a lot like sand – it’s a battleground for just about everyone.
Director Denis Villeneuve does a great job distilling Frank Herbert’s novel. But there are so many landscape shots (all that sand!), “Dune” needs more talk to make the stay worthwhile. It’s super in a large theater (a welcome return for moviegoers), but seems padded, even when it isn’t.
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Great international actors check in, then disappear. You wait for them to return but they don’t. Even top-billed Zendaya (as one of the oppressed people of Arrakis) is barely here. (Presumably, she’s a big force in the yet-to-be-filmed Part Two.)
That means there are a lot of angsty Paul scenes where his hair blows fetchingly while his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), worries about what they’ll do next. There are some interesting vehicles (with very retro controls, for a world set in 10191) and a lot of Luke Skywalker-level training sessions. Missing? Explanations for moviegoers who aren’t already in the fold.
Even the sandworms – which were key to the 1984 David Lynch version – get short shrift here. If anything, this “Dune” is the warm-up act to one that could be pretty spectacular.
Because nothing in the world is familiar (not unlike “Lord of the Rings”), it takes a while to figure out who’s aligned with whom. Jason Momoa shows up as Duncan Idaho, a mentor of sorts to Paul. He takes on all comers (not unlike Aquaman), giving filmgoers a bit of the action they thought they were going to get.
To his credit, Villeneuve (who also co-wrote the screenplay) takes this very methodically, which helps us understand the situation. But just when he gets to the point of take-off, “Dune” ends. It leaves an impression, but it’s as fleeting as the tracks of a hero after a sandstorm.